This just does not sound even 1% appetizing.

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (AP) -- As a five-decade livestock producer, Jim Farmer wants his son and two daughters to follow in his footsteps.

He hopes ready-to-eat beef -- in a can -- is the ticket.

Farmer has joined resources with about three dozen other beef producers, including his son and son-in-law, in creating a co-op that aims to turn 1,000 cattle a year into canned beef. Eventually, the co-op hopes to handle as much as 10 times that.

The specially built plant in Montgomery City, about 70 miles west of St. Louis, has begun production. Canned beef has hit the shelves in some Missouri stores, mostly in tiny towns. While it's too early to say what the demand is, farmers like Farmer are thinking big.

Beef in a can ?